The United Arab Emirates announced today, Saturday, a "comprehensive reform" of the country's Islamic personal status laws, allowing unmarried couples to coexist, easing restrictions on alcohol, and criminalizing so-called "honor killings."
The official Emirates News Agency (WAM) said that the President of the State has approved the amendment of some provisions of the Personal Status Law, Civil Transactions and Penalties and the Criminal Procedure Law, which include "lifting the criminalization of acts that do not harm others in the penal code, and abolishing the article that gives a mitigating excuse in so-called honor crimes." .
The text of the amendment related to honor crimes stated, “And in affirmation of the state’s commitment to protect women's rights and to reinforce the principle of the rule of law, the article that provides a mitigating excuse for so-called“ honor crimes ”has been abolished so that murder crimes are treated according to the provisions in force in the Penal Code.
The amendments also stipulate "allowing non-citizens to choose the laws that apply to their actions in matters of inheritance and inheritance in the Personal Status Law."
The Associated Press said that the amendments include "abolishing penalties for alcohol consumption, sales and possession for those 21 years and over."
The agency commented on this amendment, saying, "Although alcohol and beer are widely available in bars and clubs in the luxurious coastal cities of the United Arab Emirates, individuals need a government-issued license to purchase, transport or drink alcohol in their homes," adding that the new law will allow For Muslims who are denied licenses to drink alcoholic beverages freely.
The agency pointed to another amendment that allows “cohabitation with unmarried spouses,” considering that “as long as it was a crime in the Emirates, the authorities, especially in the more free financial center in Dubai, have often looked in the other direction when it comes to foreigners, but the threat of punishment still exists. ".
The Associated Press quoted the Emirati newspaper, thenationalnews.com, published in English, that these amendments "will take effect immediately, in light of the efforts of the rulers of the Emirates to keep pace with a rapidly changing society in the country."
The official Emirates News Agency said that these amendments "come within the framework of efforts to develop the legislative and investment environment in the country, consolidate the principles of tolerance, and aim to provide a legislative environment compatible with multiculturalism and the state's commitment to building a competitive and safe social and economic environment."
The Associated Press considered that the amendments "reflect the expansion of personal freedoms for the UAE, which has sought to view itself as a Western destination for tourists, wealth seekers and companies, despite its Islamic legal law that previously sparked lawsuits against foreigners and anger in their countries of origin."
On the timing of the amendments, the agency said that this step "comes on the heels of a historic deal brokered by the United States to normalize relations between the UAE and Israel, which is expected to bring in an influx of Israeli tourists and investment. It also comes at a time when Dubai, which is studded with skyscrapers, is preparing to host the Expo." Global".